Easter skiing – Ski Club GB stats part 2

Easter Sunday falls late this year on 24th April – making the ski season unusually long. Following from the great feedback we received from our earlier post on late season skiing, we’ve got some more data from the Ski Club of Great Britain to help you decide where to head off to for that all-important spring ski trip…

Most European resorts stay open until mid-April, even into May. So don’t pack those skis and snowboards away, read on for our guide to late season snow-sure resorts across Europe and North America.

Why go skiing late season?

Perhaps the most attractive element of late season skiing is the weather. As spring approaches it’s much sunnier, with longer daylight hours, which means longer lift opening times. Plus, longer days mean there’s the chance to enjoy BBQs and beer drinking on the sun terraces of the slope-side bars and mountain restaurants.

It’s also much cheaper to go skiing in the spring. Late season is low season, so lift passes, accommodation and flights all cost considerably less. What’s more, the slopes are also quieter, with less chance of lift queues.

Where to go for late season skiing?

The key elements to look out for are, of course, altitude (high – ideally with glacier) or latitude (northern) and a reputation for lots of snow (machine made or natural). A combination of any two of these factors normally ensures skiing success.

The higher the altitude of the ski area, the colder it is, and the longer the snow lasts, so aim for resorts that have skiing at 2,000 metres or above. Several of the best-known resorts in the Alps offer glacier skiing in the summer. In March and April however, these are your best bet for fine winter snow conditions all day.

Easter snow conditions from Ski Club of Great Britain

The Ski Club of Great Britain has historical snow records for the last 17 seasons (from 1993). Using this data, Crystal Ski have compiled a list of the best resorts for late season skiing.

In the charts below, average snow depths are from the Ski Club of Great Britain’s historical snow reports and are an average of the last 17 seasons (starting in 1993). Also shown is the average total fresh snow fall during the month of April (based on data from 2006-2010).